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The Tangent Project creates a coherence from forces of wide ranging origins. Synthesist Jeff Coulter and guitarist Harrison McKay find their musical truths in the vague idea of atmosphere, as they forego the conventions of music which prevent others from finding a truer expression. The album Threads (71'02") may at first seem like a vessel of primitive energy. With its rough grained coarse timbres, sustaining thought tones and potent exhilarating immediacy, Threads ably converts electrical current into sound. But the work of The Tangent Project is more than just the dream of a mechanical future. Out of an increasing density and dissonance emerge tonal elements - suggesting our higher emotional being. Expressionistic moans, a noise from beyond, driven by transformations of texture and rhythm, jump in from nowhere to snap in the air. The fluid sound of McKay's e-bow guitar evokes a wordless oratory, as Coulter's common chords move gradually between the sullen and dusky, and the serenely radiant. Sequencer sections move in circles, clearing away any abstract clutter, while areas of epic sustaining notes find the twilit listener, and move them gently into the stillness of night. Luxuriating in these ambiguous sonorities, we drift easily further into thought. But, in a quick rush of sound, remnants of a memory, shapes from a vision, coalesce into clear cycling patterns - echoing pleasantly along an intriguing compositional arc. Mellotron reeds play their subtle message through a vertical mass of deep reverb, and mark the brink of nothingness. As the lustrous arrangements build, Threads commands our attention. Its four tracks (one commissioned for STAR'S END) move us through liminal realms. In a vivid succession of sounds, rhythms, moods, and musical ideas we find ourselves traveling in place. As we traverse the great distances of our thoughts, we must regard the quiet roar upon which we are riding. This curious sensation goes with us, on the lonely road of exploration.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 29 September 2016 |
